Campaign Trends: Super Bowl 2025
The cultural influence of the NFL is growing, with a strong push into international markets, including the UK, Germany and Mexico. As global fandom expands, worldwide revenues are projected to reach $29.4bn by 2025 (Statista). With brands competing for attention on the biggest advertising stage of the year, WGSN explores the key strategies and takeaways from the 59th Super Bowl to focus on for the year ahead.
Overview
The 59th Super Bowl attracted an estimated 119.7 million US viewers (Forbes) and showcased brands embracing early adoption of WGSN’s Marketing Forecast 2026 strategies, from multi-layered marketing to intentional creativity.
This year’s Super Bowl features 17 brands making their advertising debut, alongside the return of two-thirds of 2024’s advertisers. Beyond the advertising slots, the Super Bowl is a major social event. In 2024, US consumers spent $17.3bn, much of it on food, apparel, new TVs and furniture (National Retail Federation).
Marketing strategy
Advertisers paid $8 million for a 30-second advertising slot at the Super Bowl this year (Statista), up from $7 million last year.
Humour dominated this year’s Super Bowl marketing strategy, with the standout commercials rooted in surrealism and nostalgia. Brands leveraged these elements through engaging re-storytelling and kidult marketing, capturing audience attention and igniting online conversations. With 90% of consumers stating they are more likely to remember a humorous ad (The Drum), humour is gaining traction as a way to connect with consumers in divisive times.
As the sponsor of the Halftime Show, Apple Music leveraged the event to highlight moments of Glimmers through Kendrick Lamar’s performance, emphasising the importance of using music and sports to foster shared pride and togetherness among patriotic consumers in the US. The performance also sparked a surge on social media, with ‘Kendrick’ briefly becoming the number one trending term in the US on Twitter/X during the night (Forbes).
We unpack two of the six strategies and takeaways from the Super Bowl to focus on for the year ahead.
Win new audiences with the creator economy
Harness the power of creator universes by collaborating with influencers and tastemakers across various platforms to lean into their loyal fanbases and drive revenue. With 49% of consumers in the US and UK making purchases daily, weekly or monthly due to influencer posts (Sprout Social), strategic partnerships can turn ads into sales.
At this year’s Super Bowl, creators were featured in landmark ads and the NFL brought 150 creators to the event to make exclusive content for their channels. Poppi enlisted top creators Alix Earle and Jake Shane for its Super Bowl ad, positioning the drink as a healthy soda with low sugar and prebiotic benefits.
Snapchat partnered with the NFL to launch the official NFL x Snapchat Creator Program, bringing Snap Stars such as Katie Austin, Ross Smith, and Treasure Wilson to the Super Bowl. The collaboration also introduced new AR Lenses, offering fans an immersive way to experience the game.
Appeal to kidults with mascots
As polarisation increases, revive neutral characters like mascots to resonate with modern kidult consumers and harness nostalgic marketing.
WGSN has been tracking the revival of mascots since 2023 (Brand Strategy: Mascots), and research shows that campaigns featuring brand mascots are 37% more likely to boost market share (AdWeek).
This year, Nerds introduced a digital mascot in its Super Bowl ad, celebrating New Orleans and diverse music genres, featuring musician Shaboozey.
Instacart’s Super Bowl ad embraces kidult and nostalgic marketing, featuring nine iconic mascots, including the Old Spice Guy and the Pillsbury Doughboy riding a Heinz Wiener Dog.
WGSN clients can now access the Campaign Trends: Super Bowl forecast and discover the other four key strategies and takeaways from the Super Bowl to focus on for the year ahead.